Chapter 981: Absolute Formation

Through large-scale weapon-refining industries, catalyzing the derivation of formation tattoos, and providing a large number of rule changes to accelerate the research of formations—this could also be considered an attempt by Mo Hua.

If this attempt could succeed, it could save a lot of manpower and save a large amount of time and divine sense computing power.

In the future, when conducting the "source return" of formation origins, there would be a "model" to refer to.

Through large-scale cultivation production and the application of a large number of formations, samples of formation tattoo evolution could be provided to conduct formation source return and comprehend the origin of the Formation Dao.

In this way, learning and application would be integrated, and it could also benefit the common people.

There would be no need to be like the Five Elements Sect back then, wasting the mental power of a large number of formation masters to do research and study on paper.

Of course, this was just Mo Hua's assumption.

Whether it was feasible or not still needed to be verified step by step.

Up to this point, the large furnaces of the Gu Family Weapon-Refining Firm, including the formation on the hidden "Magnetic Ink Furnace," had all been constructed according to Mo Hua's plan.

Mo Hua checked it again from beginning to end, confirmed there were no problems, and then delivered it to Master Gu.

How to seal the furnace, ignite the fire, produce, refine, and keep it secret afterward would all be arranged by Master Gu himself.

Looking at the magnificent furnace before him, as well as the profound and complex formations carved on the inner wall of the furnace, Master Gu's gratitude and admiration were beyond words, and his attitude toward Mo Hua became even more respectful.

Cultivation base is used for killing people.

Formations, however, can be used to save people.

Although Mo Hua was only at Foundation Establishment, he had done many things that even Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul True Persons, could not do.

One thought to save the world.

He had built a foundation for the cultivators of a city to settle down and establish their lives.

He really hadn't misjudged him back then; this Young Master Mo was truly their "noble person."

But even so, Master Gu hadn't expected that this noble person could be "noble" to such an extent...

For Solitary Mountain City, this was almost equivalent to half an "Immortal."

Master Gu invited Mo Hua to the side and personally served him tea.

The two sat in the courtyard, looking at the now completely different Solitary Mountain City. Master Gu felt emotional in his heart and couldn't help but say:

"Thanks to Young Master Mo, the days in Solitary Mountain City will definitely get better and better."

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, but shook his head, "Not necessarily."

Master Gu was stunned.

Mo Hua said: "Whether it's the mines or the furnaces, these are actually external things, given by others."

"Relying on these, one might be prosperous for a while, but as time goes on, trouble will surely arise. When that time comes, the loose cultivators of Solitary Mountain City might not be able to hold onto these foundations."

Master Gu's brows slowly furrowed.

These worries were actually buried in the bottom of his heart. It wasn't that he didn't know, but he had been too excited seeing the changes around Solitary Mountain City and hadn't thought about it carefully.

Master Gu thought for a moment and said slowly:

"Then... urge the loose cultivators of Solitary Mountain City, especially those children, to let them cultivate diligently and learn weapon refining. Only when they have their own skills in the future can they protect everything they have now."

Mo Hua nodded and took out another booklet.

On the cover of the booklet, the words "Introduction to Formations" were written in neat but timeless calligraphy.

It looked ordinary.

"This is a small booklet I compiled. It contains basic formation tattoos, common formation patterns, and some advanced formation knowledge and principles, making it convenient for those children to use for formation enlightenment—from nothing to something, from shallow to deep, learning formations step by step."

"The formations in this booklet are aimed at the environment of Solitary Mountain, focusing on practicality. Even if they only learn a few formation tattoos, they can use them in their daily lives..."

Master Gu took the booklet. It was thin in his hand, but he felt it weighed a thousand catties in his heart. He said solemnly:

"I will definitely teach these children, and I will also let these children remember the Young Master's kindness, so they won't let down the Young Master's expectations and will learn formations well."

Mo Hua thought for a moment, but shook his head, "You can't say it like that."

Master Gu was startled, "Can't say it like that?"

"Yes," Mo Hua nodded, "You can't let them have the idea that they are learning formations for 'me.' Formations shouldn't be learned for the sake of others."

"Then..." Master Gu pondered, "Learn for themselves?"

Mo Hua still shook his head, "That won't work either. If they learn like that, they'll easily become selfish and narrow-minded."

Learning for themselves, once they succeed, they will easily feel that everything they have was obtained through their own efforts.

They will look down on others and despise those who are not as good as them.

In all likelihood, after they succeed, they will leave Solitary Mountain City, join sects, marry into noble families, and seek their own fame and fortune. It's even possible they will turn around and exploit the interests of the cultivators in Solitary Mountain City.

People are easily blinded by temporary success, thereby ignoring that the reason they were able to "stand out" was actually because they had received help from many people and benefited from the silent contributions of many people behind the scenes.

Therefore, telling these orphans to cultivate for themselves, the future of Solitary Mountain City, in all likelihood, won't be good either.

Children with talent, using the cultivation resources of Solitary Mountain City, after achieving success, will despise their own origins and discard Solitary Mountain City like a worn-out shoe.

In this way, they are actually no different from Shen Shen Shouxing.

Master Gu's expression was solemn, and he fell into deep thought. After a moment, he asked: "Then... how should I tell these children?"

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly, and he said slowly: "Tell them they are learning formations for the sake of 'Solitary Mountain City'."

"The reason they can have a full meal, have spirit stones to cultivate, and learn formations is because this city exists."

"After they succeed, they should also contribute to Solitary Mountain City and all the cultivators in the city, making Solitary Mountain City better."

"As long as Solitary Mountain City gets better, they will live better, and their descendants will have a good future."

"And the most important point..." Mo Hua said solemnly, "Everything in Solitary Mountain City, whether it's the Solitary Mountain, the mines, or everything gained from them, belongs to all the cultivators of Solitary Mountain City."

"No cultivator is allowed to occupy them privately, nor are they allowed to buy or sell them privately."

"Once greed takes over and the foundation of survival is sold, one might gain temporary huge profits, but in the long run, there will surely be great disaster."

"The Shen family's affair will repeat itself."

"These loose cultivators will be exploited and oppressed again, suffering the same hardships and crimes a second time..."

"All previous efforts will be washed away..."

Master Gu was stunned for a long time, his heart surging, and then he bowed deeply to Mo Hua and sighed: "Young Master... you have profound righteousness."

A few days later, Mo Hua prepared to set off and return to the Profound Heaven Sect.

The affairs of Solitary Mountain City were roughly planned, and the formations were almost finished. He still had many things to do and couldn't stay long.

Master Gu and a group of weapon-refining disciples from the firm all came to see him off.

Fan Jin also came.

The Dao Court Bureau was busy, in addition to the Shen family, there was the scheduling of manpower and material resources related to the Solitary Mountain mines, as well as the review of rules and regulations, etc.

The Solitary Mountain City Dao Court Bureau had few hands, and Fan Jin was also busy, but he still specially came to see Mo Hua off.

It was to see him off, and also to express his gratitude.

"For the previous matter, thank you for your guidance, Young Master," Fan Jin said solemnly.

Mo Hua had a rough idea in his heart and asked: "Have you met Inspector Xia?"

"Yes," Fan Jin nodded, "Inspector Xia gave this humble official a chance for promotion. All of this is thanks to Young Master Mo."

Mo Hua shook his head, "This is an opportunity you grasped yourself."

Opportunities are grasped by oneself, but if no one gives this opportunity, even if he broke his head, he wouldn't be able to grasp it.

The humbler one's origin, the more one knows how precious an opportunity is.

Fan Jin cupped his hands, his expression sincere: "Great kindness cannot be expressed in words. From now on, whatever Young Master Mo entrusts, Fan will do it at all costs."

"You are too polite, Commandant Fan," Mo Hua smiled.

He only gave an opportunity; as for how far Commandant Fan could eventually go, it depended on himself.

"It's getting late, I should return to the sect. Commandant Fan, take care," Mo Hua said.

Commandant Fan saluted and said in a deep voice: "Young Master, take care!"

Master Gu and the others also cupped their hands and said: "Young Master, take care!"

Mo Hua stepped onto the carriage, waved at them, and smiled: "You all take care too."

The carriage went further and further away. Master Gu and the others stood at the entrance of the weapon-refining firm, watching Mo Hua go until the shadow of the carriage disappeared at the intersection, still unwilling to leave for a long time.

And as the carriage drove forward, passing through the streets of Solitary Mountain City, leaving the city gate, it finally stepped onto the mountain road for the long journey.

Mo Hua looked back.

The dilapidated Solitary Mountain City, relying on the desolate Solitary Mountain, was vaguely situated in the mountain mist.

Spiritual machines stood tall, the mines were neat, and in the city, one could vaguely see the huge weapon-refining furnace, with fire light flickering, emitting wisps of white smoke.

Although still dilapidated and desolate, it already had a different scenery, regaining popularity and vitality.

Mo Hua's gaze was gratified.

And on the side, Xun Call Ziyou was also silently watching Mo Hua.

He was Mo Hua's "bodyguard," and he had silently watched everything in Solitary Mountain City.

Xun Call Ziyou, an Elder at the late Golden Core stage, felt for the first time in his life a sense of admiration and amazement for a Foundation Establishment disciple.

Xun Call Ziyou's heart was filled with an indescribable sense of shock.

He always had a premonition that if this child Mo Hua continued to cultivate while upholding his Dao heart, no matter how low his origin or how poor his spirit roots, he would definitely become a great cultivator who would shake the past and present.

And in Mo Hua, he also clearly saw the two Dao-impregnated maxims passed down since ancient times in the Ganxue Prefecture:

"As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should unremittingly practice self-improvement."

"As the earth's condition is receptive devotion, a gentleman should hold the outer world with broad virtue."

"Such a seedling must not have any mishaps..."

Xun Call Ziyou thought sincerely.

Afterward, he withdrew his gaze and began to focus, earnestly acting as Mo Hua's "bodyguard"...

The rest of the journey was uneventful.

Back at the Profound Heaven Sect, Xun Call Ziyou had to go find Old Mr. Xun to "report for duty," so he didn't need to follow Mo Hua anymore.

Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters alone.

The affairs of Solitary Mountain City were considered to have come to an end, and Mo Hua was relieved.

He had done everything he could; the rest depended on them.

A person's destiny can ultimately only be grasped by oneself.

Mo Hua continued to learn formations.

With Foundation Establishment cultivation and twenty-tattoo divine sense, he had broken the laws of heaven and entered the realm of super-grade.

This naturally meant he could officially begin to devote all his energy to studying the absolute formations beyond the second-grade twenty-tattoo level.

He had already learned one absolute formation.

The second-grade twenty-tattoo Secondary Thunder Flow Formation.

This formation had also been carved by him on the Solitary Mountain Magnetic Ink Furnace to generate magnetic ink, while simultaneously deriving a large number of secondary thunder tattoos for his own source return.

But this absolute formation, in a sense, was "given for free."

He hadn't spent much effort learning it.

Mo Hua didn't have that feeling of comprehending an absolute formation after racking his brains, thinking hard, writing thousands of times, and finally having a divine realization in his heart.

Things learned without bitter effort and exhaustion of thought always felt a bit lacking to Mo Hua, and the comprehension wasn't deep enough.

But there was no help for it; after all, he had already learned the Secondary Thunder Flow Formation, and he couldn't forget it to relearn it.

He could only continue to learn downward.

Mo Hua took out an ancient piece of leather paper from his storage ring with great care.

On the leather paper were drawn ancient, obscure patterns, which were almost in the same line as the first-grade Anti-Spirit Formation.

Second-grade twenty-tattoo, Anti-Spirit Formation Map!

This was something he had stolen from the merit treasury of the Demon Sect after a lot of trouble, using the Thunder Magnetic Formation to control a demonic cultivator disciple.

The first absolute formation Mo Hua learned during the Qi Refining stage was the Anti-Spirit Formation.

And now, he had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage with twenty-tattoo divine sense, finally having the qualifications to learn this second-grade Anti-Spirit absolute formation.

Mo Hua gently stroked the formation map on the leather paper.

In the eyes of others, this was just an obscure, ancient, and clumsy old formation map whose meaning was unknown.

But in the eyes of Mo Hua, who had mastered the first-grade Anti-Spirit Formation, it was completely different.

He could almost see the laws of spiritual power reversal flowing within it.

This reversal law was like a wisp of flame; once something ignited it, it could trigger a violent change in laws, producing unimaginable lethality.

During the Qi Refining stage, he had used this Anti-Spirit Formation to disintegrate a great formation and kill a great Dao-evil demon.

And now that he was at Foundation Establishment, once he learned the second-grade Anti-Spirit Formation, his means of formation lethality would rise to a higher level.

If there were a second-grade great formation to use as a primer for him to disintegrate, Mo Hua couldn't even imagine how strong the power produced would be.

Of course, he could only imagine it.

Where would there be a second-grade great formation for him to disintegrate?

A second-grade great formation, that would cost how much manpower and material resources, how many spirit stones, and how much spiritual ink...

As a formation master, how could Mo Hua not know?

Even if others were willing to let him disintegrate it, he might not be willing to part with it.

Of course, even if he didn't disintegrate a second-grade great formation, ordinary second-grade formations, especially high-tier second-grade formations, would definitely have considerable lethality if disintegrated by the Anti-Spirit Formation. Even if it couldn't kill a Golden Core, it would at least be able to seriously injure one.

In this way, he had one more trump card to deal with Golden Cores.

Mo Hua felt excited in his heart and began to focus his mind, comprehending the Anti-Spirit Formation map in front of him.

One by one, the formation tattoos were recorded in his heart.

The reversal laws flowing upon it, although raw and profound, were also being penetrated by Mo Hua's divine sense bit by bit, comprehended bit by bit.

The difficulty of the Anti-Spirit Formation was much higher.

Mo Hua had already learned the first-grade Anti-Spirit Formation and had also comprehended that finale formation mixed with some anti-spirit laws during the Formation Discussion Assembly, so learning it was twice the result with half the effort.

But even so, this kind of profound comprehension was by no means a matter of a single day.

Mo Hua still needed to insist on practicing and comprehending every day.

Accumulating over time, water drips through stone.

Perhaps one day, when he became skilled and suddenly enlightened, he would be able to truly master the Anti-Spirit Formation.

Learning formations is like this; it requires spending a large amount of time, making unremitting efforts, and comprehending persistently. Apart from this, there are no shortcuts.

Fortunately, Mo Hua was already used to this kind of thing.

After comprehending the Anti-Spirit Formation for a while, Mo Hua felt it was enough and put the formation map away.

Afterward, he began to consider another matter:

Life-bound formation map.

Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed in his heart.

In the Solitary Mountain tomb, he had spent so much effort trying to get his hands on the Four Symbols Azure Dragon Formation map, but in the end, heaven still didn't follow his wishes. After calculating everything, it was still intercepted by the long-scheming Mr. Tu.

He had only schemed for this matter for a year or two.

But Mr. Tu might have plotted for hundreds of years.

It wasn't strange that he hadn't out-calculated him, and Mo Hua could accept it.

But in this way, his "life-bound formation map" was once again without a destination.

Mo Hua sighed and took out several formation sketches from his storage ring.

In these sketches, many formation tattoos were recorded in a scattered manner. These formation tattoos all presented dragon shapes, some like dragon scales, some like dragon claws, some like dragon fins, or like dragon bodies...

Some of these formation tattoos were derived by Mo Hua himself.

The other part was what Mo Hua had rubbed from Shen Tu'ao.

But these formation tattoos were all incomplete.

The derivation wasn't finished, and the rubbings were only half-done.

Looking at these incomplete dragon-scale and dragon-claw formation tattoos, Mo Hua couldn't help but frown. A moment later, a bold idea suddenly jumped into his heart:

"Why must I have the dragon map in Mr. Tu's hands?"

"Can't I... derive a 'dragon' myself?"

The Four Symbols Demon Tattoos of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, like dog tattoos, wolf tattoos, snake tattoos, bear tattoos, tiger tattoos... and so on, he had kept them in mind when he was roaming the Ten Thousand Demon Valley and recorded them all.

The gathering of demon tattoos to nurture dragon tattoos, and the various changes in formation tattoos during that process, he had also seen with his own eyes on Shen Tu'ao.

Mr. Tu could take the essence of these demon tattoos and nurture them into a dragon map.

Then why couldn't he?

Copying Mr. Tu's "homework" wasn't much of a skill.

Deriving it himself was the truly impressive thing.

This was the necessary formation literacy for a powerful formation master.

The more Mo Hua thought about it, the more he felt it made sense.

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish.

Mr. Tu didn't give him the "fish," but the process of "fishing" had actually been seen clearly by him.

Since he could nurture a dragon, he certainly could too!

What's more, he possessed the Heavenly Calculation, Heavenly Deceptive Calculation, and the Five Elements Sect's Source Return Calculation all in one. In terms of derivation, there was no reason he couldn't compare to Mr. Tu...

Mo Hua's gaze gradually brightened, and his idea gradually firmed up in his heart.

He would also use demons to nurture a dragon.

Deeply dissecting the Four Symbols Formation, studying the various changes of demon tattoos, and thereby "creating" a dragon himself!

"Dragon..."

Mo Hua's thoughts stirred, and he remembered that he still had a "dragon vein" in his hand.

He climbed to the head of the bed and dug out the dragon vein wrapped in black cloth from under the pillow.

Mo Hua untied a corner of the black cloth, revealing a section of the dragon vein.

A strong Azure Dragon aura immediately surged out.

Mo Hua was startled and immediately used the black cloth to wrap the dragon vein again, not letting the dragon aura leak out.

Afterward, he frowned.

The aura of this dragon vein was too strong; he had no way to study it.

He didn't dare to touch it either.

In the Solitary Mountain Divine Hall, Shen Shen Shouxing, with his peak Golden Core cultivation, only grabbed this dragon vein once and immediately ruined an arm.

Even if Mo Hua had the guts of a bear, he wouldn't dare to touch it with his own hands.

He knew the strength of his own physical body better than anyone.

What's more, he indeed didn't have the bloodline of the Great Desolate Imperial Clan.

Mo Hua stared at the dragon vein for a while, still couldn't understand it, and temporarily put it aside.

"Forget about the dragon vein for now; it won't run away anyway. Deriving the dragon map is more important..."

Mo Hua took out formation paper and re-transcribed all the demon tattoos he had obtained in the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, one by one.

Afterward, he officially began his grand plan of "creating" a dragon.

Taking the essence of ten thousand demons to draw the Great Desolate Dragon Map.

And this, naturally, was also a vast formation project.

But Mo Hua wasn't anxious, nor was he discouraged.

This process of formation tattoo derivation could deepen his understanding and application of the Four Symbols Formation step by step.

Even if he couldn't "create" a dragon in the end, in this process, he would continuously attempt the disintegration, combination, evolution, and compatibility of demon tattoos... and would also step by step become a formation master proficient in Four Symbols formation tattoos.

No matter how you look at it, it's not a loss.

Mo Hua calmed his heart and began to compare the incomplete dragon map, studying the changes of the Four Symbols demon tattoos stroke by stroke.

Time passed bit by bit, and the night was quiet.

The candlelight on the table also flickered bit by bit.

The demon tattoos also continuously changed under his pen.

I don't know how much time passed, but Mo Hua, who was always full of energy, unexpectedly felt a trace of sleepiness for the first time.

His eyelids were very heavy, and the formation tattoos in front of him were also becoming blurry.

The dragon vein beside him was slightly hot.

One by one, the demon tattoos began to twist and melt together, forming a blurry shadow.

Mo Hua looked at these shadows, his spirit becoming harder and harder to concentrate, and he unexpectedly fell asleep on the table in a daze.

After falling asleep, Mo Hua had a dream.

In the dream, he saw a dragon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 982 =====